Then the Lord said, “See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel.
-Amos 7:8b

Take a string. Tie a rock to it.

You have just created a plumb line.

A plumb line is a simple device to measure how things line up. Gravity does all the work. From the top of a wall frame, for instance, a carpenter dangles the weighted string down to see if the wall is actually vertical.

Amos used this metaphor to describe God assessing how well the Israelites were lining up with God. In this case, they weren’t.

So how are you measuring up? Or maybe the better question is, how have you stepped out of line? We make such a question complicated, but for most of us, weighing out what’s right and wrong can be as self-evident as gravity. We just don’t like what we see.

We bend the line to our own devices and pretend it’s straight.

Have you heard of the word “Justification”? It’s the notion that when we enter into a relationship with God or Christ, grace helps us be justified with God. Not making excuses for our mistakes, but aligning ourselves with the Kingdom.

Justification is being plumb with God. That’s the sweet spot. Arriving there requires acknowledging the need for help when it comes to building a sound life.

Of course this wasn’t new. Amos made it clear that the Israelites had been living skewed lives for generations: A broken line, if you will. He certainly hammers home that message of judgment, with only a few glimmers of hope.

It took a carpenter’s son to reframe how God helps us construct our lives. Jesus is our new and improved plumb line–built now on grace. We can measure our lives against his for a clear view of where we’ve gone astray.

God’s grace offers a new plan — a blueprint for building (and rebuilding) a faithful life.

That’s Good News for me, because I’m severely challenged when it comes to constructing a building, or a life. Without some assistance, straight lines would be impossible for me.

And don’t get me started…

on plumbing.

Have a great week,

Mitch